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Virginia BRP Highlights Blue Ridge Parkway
Blue Ridge Parkway
Developed Areas


Blue Ridge
Music Center

 

 

The Blue Ridge Music Center, operated jointly by the National Park Service and The National Council for the Traditional Arts, is located at milepost 213 on the Blue Ridge Parkway near the Virginia-North Carolina state line, six miles south of Galax.  The Visitor Center is open 9-5 daily May through October and during most evening concerts.

Each summer it has a schedule of events related to a concert series. The Center has a state-of-the-art amphitheater and a 17,000-square-foot museum.  It recently added over three miles of hiking trails.  The Blue Ridge Music Center offers visitors two attractive hiking trails.

High Meadow Trail (1.35 miles)

 

This easy leg-stretcher will take you through a hayfield and a wetland with an abundance of wildflowers and birds. It also winds through a forest with a rich display of rhododendron, ferns and rock outcrops.

Two junctions for the Fisher Peak Loop join this trail. You may turn onto the loop trail, follow the High Meadow Trail to visit the Music Center’s Visitor Center, or return to the trailhead from these points.

Fisher Peak Loop Trail (2.25 miles)

Begin this trail at one of its junctions with the High Meadow Trail. The trail winds up the side of Fisher Peak through a variety of vegetation. At the lower elevation the trail follows a stream through mixed pine and hardwoods. Higher up, the blooms of azaleas, mountain laurel and Catawba rhododendron provide a spectacular display in May. They give way to a diverse second growth forest of oak, poplar, maple and sourwood trees. Look for abundant signs of animal life—woodpecker holes, deer tracks, and turkey dust baths.

Trailhead Parking

 

Trailhead parking is located on Foothills Road (State Route 612). Follow signs to the Music Center, then turn right onto Foothills Road just before passing through the Music Center gates. Continue 0.5 miles to the parking area.

 

Attention: The gates to the Music Center are locked at 5 p.m. Do not leave vehicles in the visitor center parking area later than 5 pm.  It is recommended that hikers park at the trailhead parking area on Foothills Road.  All Music Center trails are hiking only. Bicycles, horses and motorized vehicles are prohibited.

CNY Hiking HOME PAGE

Developed Areas Along the Parkway

Virginia BRP Highlights Blue Ridge Parkway